Accident:  An unexpected event or an unintended outcome that results in harm to people and/or damage to or loss of property

Biodegradable:  substance can be chemically decomposed (broken down to simpler components) by natural biological processes (e.g. soil bacteria, weather, plants, animals).

Critical Injury:  A serious personal injury that places life in jeopardy, produced unconsciousness, serious loss of blood, fracture of a leg or arm, amputation of a leg, arm, hand or foot, burns to most of the body, or loss of sight in one or both eyes 

Controls:  Steps taken to eliminate or reduce hazards or exposure to them. Hazards can be controlled at the source, along the path and at the personal level

Ergonomics:  Refers to the design of equipment, machinery and workstations to suit people

Ergonomic Hazards:  Includes repetition, force, posture and duration of activities that go beyond a person's physical abilities

Hazard:  A condition, practice or substance with the potential for accidental loss or harm to life, health or property

Incident:  An accident causing property damage or loss and with the potential to cause personal injury

Lock out/Tag out:  A means of physically disabling and flagging unsafe machines, equipment, tools and electrical devices to prevent them from being used

MSDS:  Short form for Material Safety Data Sheets. These contain detailed information about the health hazards, safe handling and storage, and medical treatment of hazardous materials

Occupational Illness:  An ill health condition caused by exposure to a health hazard in the workplace. May also be called industrial disease

OSHA:  Short for Occupational Safety an Health Administration

PPE:  Short for Personal Protective Equipment. Includes gloves, eye and face shields, breathing and filtering masks, aprons, body covering and safety footwear that must be worn when handling hazardous materials and chemicals. See MSDS, see WHMIS